As part of our Q4 Hoos Elevate theme, Start Strong: Build Early Career Momentum, we’re highlighting practical strategies that help alumni grow their careers through meaningful relationships and intentional networking. Join us on November 5 as career coach, entrepreneur, and UVA alum Kelly Geary (Col class of ’97) shares actionable insights on personal branding, networking with confidence, and building the professional reputation that opens doors throughout your career. Before taking the stage at Let’s Network, Kelly shares her thoughts on career growth, personal branding, and the power of authentic connections in the Q&A below.
Let’s start with your story! Tell us a little about your career journey and how you became a coach. What drew you to coaching, and why is this work meaningful to you?
My career has taken a lot of turns, but there’s been a pretty consistent thread running through it: people and work.
I started my career in recruiting and eventually became an entrepreneur, building and selling a recruiting firm. From there, I moved into executive leadership, built another recruiting business, helped scale a company, and later became an angel investor and nonprofit board member. Along the way, I’ve watched thousands of careers unfold—how people get hired, grow, get stuck, pivot, and sometimes end up somewhere they never expected.
Coaching grew pretty naturally from that experience. I found that I especially enjoyed working with people who were trying to figure out what came next—young adults beginning their careers, people making pivots, and people who knew they wanted something different but weren’t quite sure what that looked like yet.
That’s what led me to start The Middle League. The work is meaningful to me because careers are such a huge part of our lives, yet we’re often expected to navigate them without much practical guidance. I like helping people see that they don’t need to have everything figured out. They need to understand the value they can create, build strong relationships, keep learning, and stay in motion.
For someone early in their career who isn’t sure what they want to be “known for” yet, how can they start building a personal brand?
You’re already building a personal brand, whether you realize it or not. I think of a brand as simply a reputation amplified.
Your reputation is being built every day through the way you show up: Do you follow through? Are you prepared? Are you curious? Are you useful? Do you treat people well? What do people learn they can count on you for?
Early in your career, I wouldn’t worry too much about deciding what you want to be “known for.” You probably don’t have enough information yet—and that’s okay. Instead, pay attention to the evidence. What kinds of problems do people ask you to help solve? What work gives you energy? Where are you developing real competency? What do professors, managers, colleagues, and friends consistently notice about you?
Then make some of that visible. Talk about what you’re learning. Share work you’re proud of. Stay connected to people you’ve worked with. Use LinkedIn to help people understand what you’re doing and where you’re growing.
Over time, patterns start to emerge. Your reputation becomes clearer, and as more people become aware of it, that reputation becomes your brand. You don’t have to manufacture it. You have to earn it—and then help people see it.
Networking can feel awkward—especially when you’re reaching out to someone you don’t know. What’s one simple way to make it feel more natural and authentic?
Start with a community you’re already part of.
For UVA alumni, that means the Cavalier community. You already have something in common with thousands of people across industries, cities, and stages of their careers. That shared connection makes reaching out a little easier—and gives you a natural place to begin the conversation.
Find a UVA alum doing something that interests you and reach out. Don’t ask for a job or a favor. Ask for 10–15 minutes to hear about what they do, how they got there, or something about their field you’d like to better understand.
I also think networking gets easier with practice. Get a few wins under your belt. Have a couple of good conversations. Discover that many people are happy to help when the request is thoughtful and reasonable. Your confidence starts to build, and reaching out to the next person feels a little less scary.
You don’t have to start by networking with strangers. Start with a community you already belong to. For UVA grads, you’ve got a pretty great one.
If you could give a young alum one small action to take this month to build career momentum, what would it be?
Put 20 minutes on your calendar every week and dedicate it to your career.
Give it an impressive name if that helps. “Relationship Portfolio Expansion.” “Career Capital Development.” Whatever makes it feel official and doesn’t make your boss or HR think you’re looking for a job.
Then protect the time.
Use those 20 minutes to reach out to someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Send a thank-you note. Comment thoughtfully on someone’s LinkedIn post. Ask someone to coffee. Follow up with the person you met last week. Make an introduction for two people who should know each other.
What you do with the 20 minutes can change from week to week. What matters is that the 20 minutes keeps happening.
We tend to think career momentum comes from the big stuff—a new job, a promotion, a major decision. But a lot of it gets built in these tiny actions that don’t feel particularly significant at the time. And if something actually has a place on your calendar, you’re massively more likely to do it.
Twenty minutes a week doesn’t sound like much. But over a year, it’s more than 17 hours intentionally invested in your career. That’s how momentum gets built.